BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• BioLife Solutions' stock reached a new 52-week high, trading at $29.62 during Friday's session, following substantial trading volume of 93,506 shares.
• Several analysts provided mixed ratings with Stephens offering an "overweight" rating and a target price of $30, while Zacks lowered their rating from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Insiders sold a total of $45 million in shares over the last quarter, indicating potential shifts in ownership and perhaps sentiment regarding the company's future prospects.

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $29.62 and last traded at $29.26, with a volume of 93506 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BLFS. Stephens began coverage on BioLife Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered BioLife Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Friday, August 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.29.

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 0.9%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.62. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -241.00 and a beta of 1.95.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.31). BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 0.16%. The company had revenue of $25.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 million. BioLife Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.55, for a total value of $21,412,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,957,165 shares in the company, valued at $170,077,060.75. This represents a 11.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total value of $255,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 124,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,181,497.54. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,768,281 shares of company stock worth $45,387,484 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the first quarter worth $30,789,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 762.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 698,251 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $15,948,000 after acquiring an additional 617,320 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 9.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,054 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $81,106,000 after acquiring an additional 311,585 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2,399.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 248,474 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $5,352,000 after acquiring an additional 238,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 22.2% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 638,373 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $13,751,000 after acquiring an additional 115,963 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction tools and services for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company's products are used in the basic and applied research, and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies.

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